The Tender Bar

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | YA | Published in 2005

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Chapters 11-13Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 11-13 Summary

The author describes his move to Arizona and his happiness at being reunited with his six cousins. His mother found a job as a hospital secretary and an apartment intended for seniors. Sadly, shortly after they arrived, Aunt Ruth and the kids abruptly left Arizona and returned to Manhasset. While she never explained, Moehringer guesses that she fought with her husband and left him yet again.

Moehringer recounts how he and his mother struggled to adjust to the new climate and neighborhood with no remaining connections in town. His mother suggested that he return to Manhasset for the summer so she could work overtime and he could visit his cousins. He agreed. The author remembers that his Uncle Charlie took him under his wing that summer and introduced him to his closest friends, all regulars at Dickens. Somewhat resentful of having to be a childminder, Uncle Charlie continued to allow Moehringer, and his cousin McGraw, to join him and his Dickens friends on their outings.

Moehringer felt a fascination with the men’s friendship; their lively storytelling, overlapping conversation, and nicknames were new and exciting to him. He notes that this multitude of male voices reminded him of The Voice. Moehringer also remembers thriving in the spotlight of the curious adults he met at Dickens. He longed to spend even more time with his Uncle Charlie and his friends. However, while he thought his friendship with his uncle would deepen, “Uncle Charlie was his father’s son” and was generally disengaged from Moehringer at this time (87).

In Chapter 13, Moehringer recounts a memorable outing to a baseball game with his Uncle Charlie, his girlfriend Pat, and their friends. Moehringer bonded with Pat, but discussing his mother made him worry about her. Moehringer received a signed ball from a professional ballplayer in what he recalls as “one of the best days of my life” (101). He later learned that Pat had cancer, and he recounts that she eventually died from the disease. He assured Pat’s body at the funeral that the Dickens group would care for Uncle Charlie in her absence.

Chapters 11-13 Analysis

In these chapters, Moehringer’s memories of what he calls “Camp Dickens”bring up themes of belonging and validation. Even though Moehringer agreed to spend the summer in Manhasset to play with his cousin McGraw, once he met the Dickens men he longed first and foremost for their validation and acceptance. In fact, McGraw’s presence at these outings made him feel threatened, as he longed to have the men’s friendship and attention all to himself. Moehringer shows how male attention was an incredible novelty to him, and he was paranoid that if he or McGraw did not behave correctly, he may lose access to the Dickens men altogether. Moehringer remembers that “[t]here were rules of conduct with the men, and when McGraw didn’t follow those rules to the letter I wanted to punch him” (92).

Moehringer was thrilled to gain acceptance from the Dickens men with his wit and intelligence, and he amazed them by completing word puzzles intended for adults. In doing so, he “went from being a vague presence to a real person” (95). After this, the men took more notice of him and gave him the fatherly guidance he had longed for. They coached him in his mannerisms, his word choices, and his athletics. Mostly, Moehringer remembers, “They taught me confidence [...] That, I later realized, was everything” (95).

Moehringer includes these details to demonstrate how crucial it was for him to be accepted by Uncle Charlie and his friends. He suggests that this acceptance had to be earned, as the men treated him differently after he proved himself unusually intelligent. The fact that he did not mind earning their affections reaffirms to the reader how much he hungered for their particular brand of mentorship. This sets the scene for the coming chapters in which he would deepen these ties as a teenager and young man.